There's been lots of speculation around the announcement from David Cameron that the government will create anew system of press regulation within the UK, which will replace the Press Complaints Commission. An independent press regulator and accompanying code of conduct (written by the industry itself) is to be established, which will decide whether or not publishers have breached any ethical guidelines. Although most of us working in the media saw this coming, it may have been a little surprising to find out that the regulations will apply to online content, too - even if publishers don't opt in to them.
Content marketers - this isn't your cue to panic.
All you have to do is take action now to ensure your content meets all ethical and quality best practice guidelines. Admittedly this will require a bit of time, effort and ongoing work; however it's absolutely necessary if you wish to maintain your brand's reputation as a white-hat publisher... and actually, it's not so difficult. So, how can you become your own regulator?
1. Set up a house style guide
Create a house style guide for your brand and circulate amongst every single member of staff. You may think only the regular content contributors need to see this,... Read more

How do you define a great email campaign? Effective copy, concise subject line, clear call-to-action, sure. But putting hours of effort into an email campaign means nothing if you don’t see results. A successful campaign boils down to your brand understanding how to meet (and exceed) the expectations of your audience.
I, like most of us, am subscribed to numerous newsletters for a wide variety of reasons. Some for aggregated news purposes, business tips, daily deals or retail companies that offer value. I think we all know our favorites by the excitement we get seeing the new email freshly unopened in our inbox. This for marketers is a dream come true; these loyal subscribers are the pulse of the messages they create and move the needle for what’s to come.
A company recently caught my attention and now goes into a short list of brands that I not only enjoy watching, but admire their email campaigns and overall integrated marketing.
One night, killing some time before dinner I walked around downtown San Diego and went into the Goorin Bros. hat shop. The store pulled us in and almost back in time as we tried on hats reminiscent of the 1960s, old derby days that radiated... Read more

Mobile, mobile, mobile. It’s all marketers want to talk about anymore. And with good reason: In light of recent, dramatic behavioral shifts to tablets and smartphones, brands are grasping for ways to reach customers who are spending less time at a desktop or laptop and more time on the go.
But after a teaser video from Google’s Project Glass made the rounds recently, giving a glimpse at life, with the company’s reality-augmenting glasses, it became clear that mobile is just the tip of the wireless iceberg.
The ship is sailing into the unchartered waters toward a post-mobile world where we’ll all be connected, all the time. The boundaries will blur between what is and isn't a device, and with everything mobile, labels like “wired” and “wireless” will become meaningless. Consumers will start looking to technologies and brands to simplify how we engage with the world and information around us.
So how can brands ensure they’re prepared for the changes taking shape before our very eyes? By paying close attention to these five trends that I’m betting will define our collective post-mobile future:

Smart Everything: The reason Google glasses really capture the imagination is that they seem to make the stuff of sci-fi a reality.... Read more

Let's play a game. Step 1: Locate a popular consumer magazine or local daily newspaper. Step 2: Find an advertisement in the publication that displays or features a QR Code or Microsoft Tag. Step 3: Scan the code. Step 4: Experience the journey between the print world and the digital world. Step 5: Set the advertisement and your mobile phone to the side and please continue to read on.
Without my seeing the advertisement you chose or experiencing its scan resolve content, I will wager that, if I were to remake the advertisement, mine would be much better and more effective than the original. Here's why.
Reason #1: Descriptive/Instructional Copy
My advertisement would include copy along side the QR Code or Microsoft Tag, which informs the consumer of the following: type of code shown, where/how to download a code reader app, scan call-to-action, non-smartphone details (i.e., text/short code or URL address information), and where/what the code will resolve to. Does your advertisement have any and/or all of that information?
Reason #2: Mobile Optimized Content
The code in my advertisement would resolve to content (e.g., home page, product page, video, audio, etc.)... Read more